Time Passages
by b7-kerravon
Summary: Oneshot. SGA crossover with Doctor Who. Shepwhump galore, and a confused McKay...You'll never believe the 'secret identity' to be revealed...! Complete
1. The Doctor is In

SPOILERS: None

SUMMARY: SGA crossover with Doctor Who (both old and new series)

DISCLAIMER: The following story is a work of fanfiction, and as such is for fan enjoyment only. All recognizable characters/settings are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is made.

AN: First, I want to apologize for writing this fic; my only excuse is that I've never been attacked by a _rabid_ plotbunny before (think 'Monty Python'), so my guard was down. You can blame it on "Photographs" by 'astheblackrosewilts', a clever premise based on the photographs the members of the Atlantis Expedition brought with them. If you haven't read it, I don't want to spoil anything; just say that one of the characters is carrying a picture of Doctor Who. Unfortunately, that set me thinking…"What if…?" The character that author chose to interact with our favorite Time Lord isn't the same one I would have, and once the idea got stuck in my head, it kept screaming to get out. I wrote this entire thing in under 24 hours, and I type with two fingers (and the occasional thumb)! I will be posting it as the kind beta (my husband) reviews it to make sure McKay stays in character.

Second, I haven't forgotten "Deus Ex Machina"; this stupid bunny just kept gnawing at my ankle until I finished this…

Third, this is just silly, and an offering to appease the Bunny God. Yes, I _know_ there are discrepancies to the theory below, and holes you could drive a Buick through, but _it just wouldn't let me go!_

Lastly, if you don't know Doctor Who, both the new and the old version, this might not make a heck of a lot of sense. Read at your own risk!

With those warnings, enjoy!

**Time Passages**

By kerravon

1. The Doctor is In

The two silent figures slipped furtively down the deserted corridor, taking care to keep in the deepest shadows. Flattening against the wall, the leader hand-signaled '_halt'_ before he carefully peered around a corner. A hail of bullets answered him, causing him to jerk his head out of the line of fire just in the nick of time and turned around. Then, pushing the second, slightly pudgier man in front of him, he yelled, "Go, go, go!" The two took off at a sprint, rounding the corridor they had just emerged from and making a beeline for the stairs.

After several minutes of breathless racing, the leader signaled another halt as he checked out the next intersection. When no one appeared before his well-trained eye, he hissed, "OK, Rodney, all clear."

"Oh…good…," McKay panted, leaning forward and bracing his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Do…you think…Ronon…and Teyla…made it back to the Gate?"

Sheppard, while far from knowing any such thing, nodded. "Yeah, of course they did. They'll be back any minute now with reinforcements. We just have to stay alive until they do." Placing a reassuring hand on the scientist's heaving shoulders, he urged him forward. "Come on, we've got to keep moving or they'll find us."

Rodney straightened, glanced over Sheppard's shoulder, and his eyes widened in alarm. "Too late," he cried, covering his head and running pell mell away from the guards as they opened fire.

"Damn," Sheppard cursed as he took off after him at a sprint. He felt the white-hot sear of a bullet grazing his upper arm, but couldn't pause to assess the damage. Hopefully there would be time for that later.

The first contact with the Dryldaans by Major Lorne's team had been largely uneventful. Although somewhat aggressive, as were most human civilizations, their technology was at about the level of 1880 Earth, while their culture was a cross between the Wild West and 1920 Chicago. Essentially, 'anything goes' if you've got the firepower. Their medicines, though…the samples they had taken Beckett had him literally jumping at the chance to obtain more. Weir agreed to further trade negotiations, but decided to send Sheppard's team when two members of Lorne's were injured while sparring in the gym.

As soon as the Gate shut down behind Teyla, Rodney, Ronon, and John, the smiling faces of the 'welcoming committee' immediately became projectile weapons pointed at their heads. Apparently the ruling class decided they'd get more out of the Atlanteans in 'trade' for hostages, so the negotiations turned into kidnapping, complete with ropes and blindfolds.

They surmised that they had been escorted to a deserted Army barracks on the outskirts of town. The ride, blindfolded or not, had been less than thirty minutes, so Sheppard was confident that, should any of them escape, they should locate the Gate with little difficulty. The trick was escaping.

Ronon managed to free himself on the second day by simply claiming that his toilet was no longer functioning properly and was about to overflow. When the guard came in to check it out, Dex effortlessly conked him over the head with a lamp. In his search to find and release his teammates, the alarm was raised and he managed to get a bullet through his lateral thigh.

After that, their captors decided it would be safer to keep them all in one place, thus they were gathered in an old bunkroom. Teyla took the opportunity to clean Ronon's wound and pronounce it superficial, while the Satedan became uncharacteristically emotionally labile, even breaking into tears about his 'failure'. A few minutes later he fell into such a deep sleep that the others were unable to rouse him from, so John chalked his reactions up to sleep deprivation and let it go at that.

The next morning all four had awakened refreshed and ready to try escape again, this time together. While Ronon didn't seem the least embarrassed over his behavior the previous day, he did growl at Rodney when he mentioned it. They were successful, and set off for the Gate and home. However, their flight was soon discovered, so they split up to maximize the chances of at least one half of the team making it back to Atlantis to get help. Teyla paired with the limping Dex, while Sheppard took McKay. Out a corridor window, Sheppard smiled grimly as he saw the Pegasus natives make their way outside. Maybe he and Rodney could keep the guards busy.

The pair dashed through the mazelike interior of the abandoned building until they were thoroughly lost. However, John held high hopes that their captors were similarly disadvantaged. Once they had managed to travel several minutes with no sign of pursuit, he held up a hand again for a break. "I think we may have shaken them. Let's find someplace to hole up and wait for the cavalry to arrive."

McKay waved his hand in the air and nodded breathlessly as he followed Sheppard's lead. The soldier sidestepped down the dusty corridor, trying to watch both approaches as he searched for a suitable 'saferoom'. McKay rolled his eyes when the pilot picked a door seemingly at random and carefully eased it open.

"OK, clear. Come on," he stage-whispered to McKay.

"I've heard that before…you go first," Rodney grumbled, acquiescing.

As the pair eased into the empty room, John fought a wave of vertigo, wiping his suddenly-sweaty forehead surreptitiously with the back of his hand while Rodney examined their surroundings. Evidently a sleeping chamber of some kind, there were two rows of cots lining the walls, five to a side, with a small nightstand to the right of each bed. The room clearly hadn't been used for years, as a thin layer of dust covered every visible surface. A small bathroom led off the far end of the chamber, and the walls were bereft of either personal photos or decorative artwork.

"Probably a bunkroom, a larger version of the one we were just held in," commented McKay as he moved to examine the fairly large anachronism that dominated the room. In the far corner, spotlessly clean, stood a large, bright blue box, about the size and shape of a telephone booth. McKay wandered around its complete circumference, becoming more puzzled with each step.

"Police Call Box," he read. "Why is that written in _English?_" McKay's mind boggled at the impossibility of an English sign on a booth in an abandoned building in the Pegasus Galaxy. "And what the heck does it _mean_?" He tried the door, to no avail. "Locked," he muttered in frustration.

He glanced over at Sheppard, and was immediately alarmed. This man, this battle-weary _soldier_, who had personally seen more death and destruction than the average _platoon_, had collapsed against the wall with his back pressed firmly into the door. His pallor caused his brown hair to stand out in bas-relief, as dark hollows accented the haunted eyes that were riveted on the anomaly in the corner. John swallowed twice trying to reclaim his voice, then finally rasped, "It means…we're in a _lot_ of trouble."

Now McKay was truly frightened; he'd never seen Sheppard like this. Returning to the colonel's side, he stared at him silently, trying to understand what was happening. With a convulsive shiver, John made a visible effort to pull it together, standing away from the wall and running a hand through his hair. He shot Rodney a weak smile that only added to his apprehension; when John couldn't fake hearty optimism, the entire _universe_ was in trouble.

Sheppard shook his head in denial, then muttered more to himself than McKay, "It _can't_ be. Must be a coincidence. I mean, what are the odds?" To actually avoid calculating them, he moved shakily towards the blue box as he pulled his dogtags out from beneath his shirt. Standing before the door, he removed his tags for the first time Rodney could remember, popped the silencer ring off the one on the long chain, and freed a second metallic object that hung from the chain as well. The plastic ring that kept the tags from clinking together had effectively hidden it from casual view. Holding it in a trembling hand, he inserted it in the lock. With a small _snickt_, the door swung open.

Closing his eyes as he steeled himself, Sheppard commanded, "Come on, Rodney. We'll be safer here than anywhere else in the universe."

"Judging by your reaction, I doubt that. Besides, why hide in a tiny box when we have this nice, big, dusty room?" Although he had a million questions, McKay decided to stick to the most pressing first.

"Trust me. There's plenty of space." Sheppard wasn't feeling up to further discussion; his head pounded, his stomach churned, and his emotions roiled. Snagging McKay by the elbow, he forcibly maneuvered him inside and latched the door behind them.

"Now wait just a sec-o-n-d…" McKay trailed off as his eyes and mouth became three huge 'O's. Turning in a slow circle, he took in the chamber with its two-story ceiling and ten yard diameter. Essentially circular, the room was dominated by a polygonal central console with control panels on every side. A crystal column sat motionless in its center, but looked like it might move when activated. The structural components of the room had an almost organic feel to them while the subdued lighting seemed to emanate from the roundels that lined the walls.

"It's larger on the inside than on the outside," he finally commented when he found his voice. "That's just not possible…at least in this universe…"

Sheppard, who had collapsed bonelessly against the wall next to the door in a cold sweat, snickered slightly at the remark. He had his knees pulled to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around them, and Rodney could have sworn that the man was rocking gently back and forth. In an attempt at normalcy, he huffed, "What's so funny about that? It _is_ larger on the inside than on the outside. It must be a tesseract."

Sheppard chuckled louder and uncurled a bit. "Rodney, you have no idea…"

Just then the entrance swung open and a tall man in a leather jacket dashed into the room, followed by a flurry of bullets. Slamming his hand on one of the console's levers, he shut the door before any damage could be done. McKay, who had instinctively ducked to avoid being shot, could still hear the _pinging_ of the projectiles on the outer shell. He cautiously straightened as the new arrival shot about the center console, hitting buttons, throwing levers, and turning knobs, until finally, with a great prehistoric groan and the scream of a million tachyons, the central column began to rise and fall.

Next, the tall man in the black T-shirt and leather jacket whirled towards him, clapping his hands together and rubbing them in apparent anticipation. Steely blue eyes fixed him motionless like an insect, a feeling Rodney did not appreciate at all. Forcing an almost dangerous smile, the man rocked back and forth on his toes and demanded, "All right then; who are you, and how did you get on board?"

Rodney gathered his arrogance about himself like a cloak and began haughtily, "I'm Doctor Ro…"

He was interrupted by a vaguely hysterical giggle from the region of Atlantis' Chief Military Officer that made McKay's hair stand on end. "No, no, Rodney, you've got it all wrong!" he sing-songed with a disturbing lilt. "_He's_ the Doctor!"

McKay was confused. "Doctor who?" he asked.

"Exactly!" both Sheppard and the other man chorused as McKay stared, nonplussed.

While Rodney felt quite _clearly_ out of the loop of whatever was currently going on, he was grateful that the intense stranger's scrutiny was now fixed on the pilot seated on the floor near the door. 'Leathercoat', as Rodney mentally referred to him, bent sideways and slowly stalked forwards, keeping his eyes glued to Sheppard's face. When he was within a few feet of the now-wary pilot, he crouched down to his level, careful not to make any threatening moves.

"Don't I know you?" he asked quietly.

Sheppard glared at the other man. "You did, once upon a time, but you've changed…again." He giggled disturbingly and caroled, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…."

TBC…


	2. Questions

SPOILERS: None

SUMMARY: SGA crossover with Doctor Who (both old and new series)

DISCLAIMER: The following story is a work of fanfiction, and as such is for fan enjoyment only. All recognizable characters/settings are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is made.

AN: So, congratulations to those who are still with me! I've actually gotten a lot more hits and reviews than I expected - remember, this was written to appease the rabid plot-bunny, not because I think that it's a valid theory (though it _would_ explain a lot…)

**Time Passages**

By kerravon

2. Questions

OK, whatever was going on, Sheppard was seriously freaked, and Rodney had had enough. He strode over to the pair, determined to get some answers, or at least to get his colonel back. "Look, I don't know who you are, but my name is Rodney McKay and this is John Sheppard. We're both members of the Atlantis Expedition; I'm Chief Science Officer and he's the Chief Military Officer." He stared down at John, who had curled into himself once again. "Not that you can tell by looking at him right now…"

Sheppard began rocking back and forth, chanting, "I'll never know, I'll never know, I'll never know…" under his breath.

Wings of alarm settled permanently in Rodney's throat as he quickly knelt and grabbed Sheppard's face. "Colonel, snap out of it! I need some help here; _what - is_ - _going - on?"_ Releasing his hold, he slapped him hard enough to hopefully get some semblance of a sane reaction out of the man.

Sheppard just turned lost, watery eyes towards him and, in a small, soft voice, whispered, "He _left_ me, Rodney. He _saved _me, then he _left_ me." He buried his face in McKay's shoulder. Rodney wasn't sure, but he thought the colonel might be _crying_.

Although absolutely aghast at the unfamiliar contact, and disturbed to his soul, he grimaced and reached gingerly around to pat John on the back. "Ummm…there…there…" he tried unconvincingly.

A chuckle reminded him of the other presence in the room. "Not very good at that, are you."

McKay looked at him incredulously. "No," he replied. "I run a science lab. My people do not, I assure you, come crying on my shoulder!"

Leatherjacket shook his head once and smiled knowingly. "I'm sure they don't."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" McKay shrilled defensively.

Their host spread his open hands to the sides, palms forward. "Nothing. I was just agreeing with you."

McKay _harumphed, _then stared uncomfortably at the sobbing bundle in his arms. "Ermmm, John Sheppard is _never _like this, Mister…"

"Doctor," Leathercoat corrected.

"Whatever," Rodney continued with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Anyway, as I was saying…"

"It's my name," interrupted the other man.

That stopped McKay mid-sentence. "What? You mean your name is 'Doctor'?"

The taller man flashed a blinding grin of approval, as if a particularly slow child had just learned his abc's. "Precisely." He gestured to Sheppard. "Your friend there knows. Can't say I place him, though, and that's…troubling."

"You think you're troubled? Look at him! I don't know who you are to bring him to this state. Heightmeyer is going to have a field day with _this_."

"Heightmeyer?"

"Our base psychiatrist." McKay frowned. "Normally I'd say Colonel Sheppard would be the _last_ person to need her services; he _literally_ laughs in the face of danger! Every day!"

Bracing his hands on his knees, the Doctor stood. "Well, clearly your friend has experienced some trauma. Why don't we move him to a spare bedroom, get him cleaned up and settled in a bed, then you can tell me where you want to go."

"Cleaned up?"

The Doctor gestured to Sheppard's sleeve, which was now blood-soaked and dripping on McKay. "Oh, great. That's just perfect, Colonel; you've bled all over my best jacket!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at his comments, then bent and, placing one hand beneath Sheppard's knees and the other behind his back, scooped him up as one would a child. Sheppard appeared to be either asleep or comatose as he was gingerly carried through the door to the outer corridor, with McKay trailing behind.

As they walked through the maze of hallways beyond the main control room, Rodney suddenly began snapping his fingers as an idea occurred to him. "Hey, when Ronon was shot yesterday, he went crazi..er for a few minutes, then passed out. Could the Dryldaans be coating their bullets with a psychogenic compound?"

The Doctor considered the question for a minute as he came to a stop in front of a relatively nondescript door. "Possible, but not probable. The compound would have to stand extreme heat and friction, but it would certainly make it easier to capture their prey." Nodding at the door, he continued, "Would you mind opening that?"

"What? Oh…sure." McKay pushed the door open and held it for the Doctor to enter with his burden.

He laid Sheppard on the bed, then threw a blanket over his legs and feet. "Let's see what we have here, hmmm?" he commented, easing Sheppard's arm out of his jacket. However, rather than examining the wound, he carefully evaluated the two holes in the sleeve. Without looking away from his study, he asked McKay, "Do you know if he was shot from the front or the back?"

"Has to be the back. They've been chasing us all afternoon." Rodney wondered at the question, but saw no problem with answering it.

"Fine, then." The Doctor produced a small pair of scissors and cut out the fabric surrounding the entrance hole, which he held up triumphantly. "I'll do a chemical analysis on this while you get that wound cleaned; there are towels, soap and water through there." He pointed to the small bathroom that opened off the bedchamber. "Back in a jiff."

He left the scientist standing stock-still, mouth hanging open, and one finger raised as if to make a point. McKay shut his jaw with a snap, then turned towards the bathroom. "Fine, then," he muttered. "But you owe me one, Colonel."

Cleanup should have been relatively easy. While he despised the sight of blood and was reluctant to even touch the wound, much less scrub it, Rodney was even more unnerved by Sheppard's behavior. He endeavored to clean the bullet track of all traces of any foreign substance while the injured man slept. Thankfully the tear was little more than a scratch. He was almost done when the Doctor reappeared, bandages in hand.

Tossing them to McKay, he said, "Well, you were right. There's a highly stable psychotropic compound imbedded in the cloth around the entry hole; as we surmised, they capture prisoners more easily if they are asleep or curled up in gibbering balls."

"That explains why they're such lousy shots; they were just trying to wing us!" He finished wrapping John's arm and taped it down; when Beckett had seen his 'bandage' covering his sleeve after the Genii attack, he'd insisted on Rodney learning the basics of first aid.

"But that still doesn't explain how he knows who I am, or how you two got into the Tardis."

"Excuse me; 'Tardis'?" Rodney's brow wrinkled in confusion at the term.

"Oh, yes. Stands for '**T**ime **A**nd **R**elative **D**imensions **I**n **S**pace'. It's what my ship is called." The Doctor was inordinately pleased with himself.

"Which means…?" Rodney prompted.

A huge grin split the Doctor's face. "That it's bigger on the inside than on the outside." At Rodney's eye-roll, he continued, "And…that we can travel anywhere in time or space we want to."

"A time machine? You have a time machine?" asked Rodney in amazement.

"That's right. Now how did you two get in?" He was suddenly deadly serious. "The Tardis is nearly impregnable; you must have a key."

McKay pointed at the prone figure on the bed. "He does. It's on his dogtags."

The Doctor reached over and lifted the tags slightly so that he could see the key underneath. Eyebrows shooting up, he whistled softly then remarked, "It's one of my keys all right; one of the older ones." Gesturing to McKay to come over, he pointed at the geometric design on the front of the oddly-shaped silver toned polygon, "See that? _This_ type of key is user-specific; it is genetically encoded to keep it from being used by the wrong hands. Literally."

Rodney stared at him. "Sort of like the ATA gene…So that means that Sheppard didn't just find this somewhere, and wasn't given it by a friend or relative…"

"No." The Doctor gently returned the key to the soldier's chest and pulled the blanket up to the man's chin. "No, _I_ must have given it to him; that's the only way it would have opened the door." He became pensive. "I just _don't remember him…_"

Staring at the sleeping man's features as if running them through an enormous archive, he finally shook his head. "Come, Doctor McKay. Let him rest while I show you around the place." The two slipped quietly out of the room, easing the door shut behind them.

McKay's jaw, already gaping, slipped lower as the tour progressed through room after room, lower and lower. When they finally returned to the control room, he shook his head in amazement. "This IS a tesseract isn't it? How did you make it and keep it stable in our 4-dimensonal space?"

"Careful planning," was the flippant answer. "And its more than a mere tesseract, it uses all 11 dimensions." Although he rather liked the irascible scientist, he found that he could only tolerate him in small doses, and wasn't really in the mood for the inevitable argument that would follow the 'shoebox' explanation. Changing the subject to one he was really interested in, he blurted, "So, what do you know about your friend?"

"Clearly not as much as I thought I did," replied Rodney petulantly. He was rather hurt that in all the time they'd spent together, his having traveled in a _time machine_ had never come up.

"If you could tell me what you do know, it might help jog my memory. I've lived a long time, and have had quite a few companions scattered across the universe." He pulled two stools up to the central console, indicating that Rodney should make himself comfortable.

McKay shrugged. "OK…let's see. He's about 37, I think, and has no family to speak of. He loves flying…anything, but on Earth has a preference for helicopters. He's not the best man to be in charge of the military component of our expedition, but I'll deny saying it to my dying day. He's too impulsive; has this nasty tendency towards heroics and self-sacrifice. Still, he keeps his head in a tight situation, he's intensely loyal and I want him at my back in a firefight. 'We don't abandon our people' is one of his guiding principles; in fact, that's what got him sent to Antarctica, disobeying a direct order."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "He certainly sounds like someone I'd be proud to travel with; I only take the best. But he's still not ringing any bells." He jumped up, latched his hands behind his back, and began pacing. "Is there anything else? Anything at all?"

Rodney perched on the edge of his stool, lips pursed in concentration. "Well…there is one thing. He's much smarter than he lets on; I have no idea why he would hide it, I certainly wouldn't, but he's particularly good at mathematics."

The Doctor whirled, eyes wide. "How good?" He stared intently at the scientist.

Rodney scooted back on his seat nervously. "Umm…I'll deny this as well, but…he's among the best I've ever seen. He can even occasionally find errors in _my_ calculations."

The Doctor collapsed onto his stool again, completely deflated. "By the Eye of Rassilon…" he murmured.

Rodney leaned forward. "Why? Is it important?"

The Doctor turned eyes every bit as haunted as Sheppard's towards the physicist. In a low voice, he whispered, "I thought he was dead. _I saw him die_. How can he be all grown up and in another galaxy?" 

TBC…

AN: So? SO? Have you figured it out, too? jumps up and down in excitement See why I couldn't let go?


	3. The Choice

SPOILERS: The episode "Earthshock", from Doctor Who…I couldn't say before now or there wouldn't have been the suspense…hope no one is offended.

SUMMARY: SGA crossover with Doctor Who (both old and new series)

DISCLAIMER: The following story is a work of fanfiction, and as such is for fan enjoyment only. All recognizable characters/settings are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is made.

**Time Passages**

By kerravon

3. The Choice

"I see you've worked it out."

The two men whirled at the new voice, to see Sheppard leaning languidly against the doorframe. He had ditched the bloody jacket altogether and had acquired a short, black leather one to replace it.

McKay gaped. "How did you find your way back here through that maze?" he demanded. "You weren't even conscious the first trip!"

John shot him a crooked grin, then ambled over to the pair. "You forget, Rodney, I used to live here." He stared around the control room appreciatively. "Although I see you've done some redecorating since I left."

"How could I forget something I never knew in the first place?" McKay sputtered. "And why didn't you ever tell me about…", he gestured around the room, unable to adequately express his indignation, "THIS?"

Sheppard tilted his head. "Oh, come on, what did you want me to say? 'Oh, traveling to the Pegasus Galaxy is nothing much; I was born in a different universe.'? They would have locked me up and thrown away the key," he snorted derisively.

"You could have at least told your friends! Especially ME!" the scientist spat.

Meanwhile the Doctor stared at Sheppard with the same trepidation that one might watch a poisonous viper. Finally finding his voice, the previously self-assured man stammered, "But…the ship…the Cybermen…there was nothing I could do!" The last was blurted in an anguished cry. "Adric, I watched you _die_ and there wasn't a thing I could do about it!"

Sheppard narrowed his eyes angrily while McKay observed the exchange in open-mouthed silence. Stalking up to the suddenly-small Doctor, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket while accusing, "But you did rescue me; before the ship crashed you knocked me out from behind, then dropped me off at a hospital in Iowa in 1983! I woke up on an alien planet as 'John Doe', with only _this_ to comfort me!" He whipped out a well-worn and multiply-folded piece of notepaper and thrust it at their host. "Do you deny that it's your writing?"

The Doctor carefully unfolded the paper until he could read the message on the inside. "Live well," was all it said. He flipped it over; nothing else. Looking again at the words, he slowly shook his head.

"Yes, that is my handwriting, but I didn't save you.I_ couldn't _save you Tegan cried for days!" The Doctor exclaimed, absolutely stricken.

"All I know is that when I woke up, that was at my bedside. You abandoned me, and I _assumed_ it was because of our argument. No birth certificate, so I was 'John Doe'. I was only fourteen, so I ended up in an orphanage. Fortunately, an older couple named 'Sheppard' adopted me, so I went from 'John Doe' to 'John Sheppard'. I hid my talents as best I could, then worked at getting my hands on anything that flew."

McKay could restrain himself no longer; his entire world had just come apart at the seams, and he was trying to make sense of the shambles. "But why hide your math ability? What harm could there be in excelling in the field?"

Sheppard shook his head as he patiently explained. "Rodney, I was born on Terradon, in E-space. Trust me, I am not quite…human. I was afraid that if I called attention to myself, the US government would make me 'disappear' to some lab somewhere, and that would be that. So I laid low, copied what the other kids did, and discovered I liked having friends. I learned to 'cool it', even the many times when I was right and the teachers were wrong." He snorted in self-deprecation. "You may find this hard to believe, but when I was a young teen my ego could've given yours a run for its money."

The Doctor interrupted from where he had been examining the paper, "This is definitely mine. Besides it being undeniably my handwriting, it's written on psychic paper. No one on Earth would have access to such a thing."

Sheppard grinned. "Yeah, I know. It got me out of quite a few scrapes growing up. Whenever I got caught playing 'hooky', it was suddenly an excuse note to be wherever I was. Same thing later in the military, when I started checking out classified files and labs, looking for any trace of _your_ whereabouts."

"Sooo….when you found out about Atlantis…" McKay began.

"I was not entirely surprised, no. What did startle me was having that gene; my guess is that the spacecraft that crashed on my planet actually carried Ancients, who set about blithely manipulating the genetics of the indigenous species just like they did here in Pegasus." He shrugged self-consciously. "That makes me a little closer in spirit to the Wraith than I like to think about, honestly."

"But…you don't…" at an unexpected loss for words, Rodney held up his open hand, palm-forward, and made a sucking sound.

Sheppard narrowed his eyes and shook his head vehemently. "In spirit, Rodney. I don't drain the life out of people with my hand, or any other part for that matter."

The Doctor interrupted the conversation. "I didn't rescue you…yet. That means that I will in the future." He handed the paper back to Sheppard, who folded it and placed it reverently back in its compartment in his wallet.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Sheppard grinned, "Well, I guess I forgive you, then, since you haven't done it yet. I thought you were mad at me, or didn't like me anymore. Silly, huh?" Pulling up a stool of his own, he added conversationally, "So, how many times have you regenerated since then?"

The Doctor stared into space and started counting on his fingers, grateful for the distraction. "Let's see…after the blonde you knew, I turned into a curly-haired arrogant fop. After that, I was a much shorter, somewhat comical individual with a straw hat and a question-mark umbrella. Next, I was a tall, sensitive Edwardian gentleman, until push came to shove with the Daleks, and I became this." He gestured to indicate his present body. "So, to answer your question, four."

Sheppard whistled. "Four, eh? Can't seem to stay out of trouble? What do the Timelords think of all your 'interference'?"

A shroud passed in front of the Doctor's face. "Not much, I'm afraid. They're all dead."

"All of them? What about Romana?"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "I don't know. I suppose she might be safe, seeing how she stayed behind when we reentered this universe. All else, gone." He forcibly brightened, "So, Adric, where do you want to go? Or do you prefer 'John' now?"

This was the moment Sheppard had been dreading since he set eyes on the Tardis in that dusty bunkroom. Everything he'd done since first finding himself alone on planet Earth had been geared toward eventually locating the Doctor and possibly returning to his home planet. He'd even intentionally become more likeable, in case that was why he'd been abandoned. Just for this moment, and this question. But now that it had been asked, he found that there was only one _real_ answer in his heart, so he swallowed hard and admitted aloud, "Atlantis".

The Doctor jumped up and waved his arms around to indicate the whole universe and everything beyond, "But you have all this! I've just found you again; to me, you've miraculously risen from the dead! And you want to go back to your _job_?"

Sheppard gave him a melancholy smile. "No, Doctor. Just like our last argument, I want to go _home_. But now, 'home' is with a bunch of people in a floating city on a backwoods planet in the Pegasus Galaxy. 'Home' is my friends and yes, 'home' is my responsibilities. Because they are depending on me, Doctor. They need me to be there, to make a difference."

The Doctor locked eyes with the Colonel, and for a moment nothing moved. Then, with a quirk of the lip and a small nod, the Doctor softly replied, "Atlantis it is, then." He busied himself at the controls, readjusting the coordinates and avoiding Sheppard's gaze as he continued, "You know what, John?"

"What, Doctor?"

At that, the Doctor looked up. "You've grown up."

Sheppard dropped his head to hide the smirk, but the Doctor heard the little snort of amusement that came from that direction. He let it go, hand wavering over the last control. "All right, _when_ do you want to arrive?"

Sheppard was at his side in a flash, peering over his shoulder at the console. "You mean I actually have a choice? We aren't just going to land whenever the Tardis feels like putting us down?"

The Doctor had the grace to look offended. "I'll have you know I fixed the navigational circuits ages ago!"

"All right then; drop us off in Atlantis five minutes after you picked us up on Dryldaala."

McKay finally decided to rejoin the conversation; he'd been silent for so long his jaw was beginning to seize up. "Now wait just a second. If this is truly a time machine, couldn't we go back and save Peter? Or warn ourselves of the 'Superwraith' before anybody gets killed? Or heck, why not avoid waking the Wraith up _altogether_?"

Sheppard shook his head. "It doesn't work like that, Rodney. If we save people who are supposed to die, we set up a time loop that we could be trapped in forever."

"Then how can a future Doctor go back in time and rescue you from the crashing spaceship?" McKay argued.

Sheppard's eyebrows rose. "That's a good one. Doctor, you want to field this?"

The Doctor smiled and glanced over from where he stood at the control panel. "Glad to." He ticked the points off on his fingers, "One: you're here, now, right?"

"Yes…" replied Sheppard.

"Two: you didn't die in the crashing spaceship, right?"

"Right…" Rodney chorused along with Sheppard this time.

"Three: You were clearly rescued by me, given the prima facie evidence."

"Yes…"

"Four: I haven't rescued you yet, or I would remember it."

Sheppard tilted his head consideringly. "I don't know, Doctor. You got pretty wonky with the one regeneration I witnessed, and you've had four since then. You might have done it and forgotten."

The Doctor's eyes became haunted once more, and he paused for a few moments before responding. "It's true, sometimes I forget things when I renew, but the important stuff always eventually comes back." He looked down at his controls, unable to face Sheppard. "When the blonde 'me' lay dying, my last word before I regenerated was 'Adric'." He looked up again with resolve. "Trust me. I would remember saving you if I had done it already."

John was touched by the intensity of the Doctor's speech. With a slight upturn of his lip, he replied, "Fair enough. You haven't rescued me…yet. But you will."

"That was point five," the Doctor pouted.

"Granted. Nicely reasoned."

McKay wasn't buying it. "You mean to say…that it's OK to go rescue Sheppard because the evidence exists now that you already did sometime in the future?"

Both Sheppard and the Doctor grinned. "Exactly!" they chortled in unison.

Rodney sank back into his seat, holding his head in his hands.

The Doctor nodded approvingly. "He's pretty smart for a monkey."

John, shoving his hands in his pockets, rocked back and forth on his heels delightedly. "Yeah, he is, isn't he?"

The slowing of the central column interrupted their conversation. Checking his monitors, the Doctor announced, "We're here. Anyplace in particular you want to set down?"

"Just somewhere away from people; we'll have enough to explain as it is."

The column ground to a shuddering halt and the Doctor threw a lever, causing the outer door to swing open. Gesturing to the two men, he said, "After you."

The three found themselves in a deserted part of Atlantis, near the North Pier. "Wow, Doctor, I'm impressed. You really _have _worked on the navigational circuitry, haven't you?"

"I told you so, didn't I?" The Timelord pretended to take umbrage.

"Just one more thing to check out." Sheppard keyed his mike and spoke on the secure channel. "Doctor Weir, this is Sheppard. Do you read?"

"John?" came the astonished response. "Where are you? Is McKay with you? Teyla and Ronon just got back twenty minutes ago; we were organizing a rescue party!'

The Doctor blew on his fingernails and buffed them on his shirt as Sheppard nodded his silent congratulations. Aloud he replied, "We caught a lift…from an old friend. Rodney's with me and we're both safe and sound."

McKay keyed his own mike, breaking in. "Yes, I'm fine. But don't let him fool you, Elizabeth, he's been shot."

"Shot? Colonel Sheppard, is that true?"

"It's more like a scratch; it's nothing."

"Ronon's injury was laced with some sort of drug; you are to report to the infirmary immediately. I'll meet you there."

The line clicked off definitively as Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Yes, mother," he muttered.

"Well, I must be going," announced the Gallifreyan, heading back to his 'Police Call Box'.

"Wait a minute; so soon?" McKay surprised himself by complaining before Sheppard did.

"Yeah, there's more than enough trouble around here to keep you busy," the pilot drawled.

The Doctor smiled whole-heartedly. "It's nice to know I'm welcome; don't worry, I'll be back. I just have a few errands to take care of right now."

"Oh? Like what?" John was truly curious.

"Well, first off, I appear to have an appointment…sixty-five million years ago."

John grinned. "Yes, I guess you do."

"I'll see you soon…John." With that the man disappeared into the blue box and closed the door. The light on top began to flash and a whirring, grinding noise filled the room. McKay clapped his hands to his ears to drown out the tachyon shriek, while John just stood and waved goodbye as the Tardis slowly faded from view.

"When do you think he'll come back?" asked McKay, breaking the ensuing silence. "I have GOT to get a better look at that Tardis of his!"

"In time, Rodney," replied Sheppard with a grin. "In time."

Finis

AN: Congratulations to everyone who figured it out. Unfortunately, to really 'get' this story you have to be familiar with the Peter Davidson 'Doctor Who', and have seen the episode "Earthshock". For those that have, you can see why this bunny was gnawing my leg off once it occurred to me. Adric was one of my favorite Companions, and I still cry when they roll the silent credits for that episode over the broken gold star on the Tardis floor.

"Wikipedia" has a great description of the character, listed under 'Adric'. It's a full page long, but this excerpt is perfect: "With a brilliant mathematical mind and sporting a gold badge for mathematical excellence, Adric was also very well aware of his own intelligence. That, coupled with his relative immaturity, led to a personality that was abrasive and crossed over into arrogance. As a result, Adric is one of the least popular companions among fans of the programme. However, it was obvious that Adric also desperately sought validation from the Doctor as well as those around him, and was often hurt and resentful if he felt he was being sidelined or unable to contribute."

Basically, take Rodney McKay's personality and put it in a fourteen-year-old-boy who is a genius at math, and knows it.

The hair's the same, the math's the same, the bravery's the same, the tendency towards heroics…but I had to explain the radical personality change to make it convincing. Hopefully I pulled it off; you tell me...

For those of you who only know "Doctor Who" through Eccleston and Tennent, I recommend "Wikipedia" as a reference to prior Doctors. It has entries for the Doctors as a whole, each individual Doctor, Companion, and even episodes. Lots simpler than watching 25 years worth of episodes…

Of course, they're worth watching!


End file.
